Russia in Upheaval

of an urchin in the street, he seems to take real delight in leading me to a corner and pointing out my destination. A handsome young man stops me in a Moscow street with a question. I explain that I am a stranger to the town, and his deprecatory gesture and touch on my shoulder as he begs pardon are so winning that I would go far out of my way to do him a good turn. I am on a car and, the windows being frosted, I am in doubt whether this stop is where I should get off for a certain street or art gallery. In some intuitive way those about me have read my mind, for one will say, "You are to get off at the second stop," or "I leave here, but this gentleman will see that you get off at the right place." Entering a court in the evening, I look about for the right entrance to the apartments, and in four seconds people are calling to me, "Na prdvo!" or "Prydmol" ("On your right"; "straight ahead"). The Russian mind is not superior to other minds in catching an idea, but in reading human beings it has genius, in this respect resembling the Celts rather than the Germans or Anglo-Saxons. I am told that foreigners prefer Russian servants, even ignorant peasants, because of their quickness in apprehending one's wishes. This may be why illiterate servant-girls and factory-hands are as deeply moved by the reading of, say, "King Lear" as our cultivated people. It has been found better not to read these simple people Lamb's "Tales from Shakespere," or other waterings, but to gi... --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.